Me Thinks

I am still thinking about the subject of holiness. My daughter Marie shared these words with me on the subject:

As a mother, I have not been able to attend the temple weekly like I could when I was single. At church meetings, my attention is always being divided between the speaker/teacher and Braden/Sunbeams/Young women, etc. I can no longer rely on those things to be the basis of my spiritual nourishment for the week. At first, I felt such a void in my life! The first few months with Braden, I felt like my Spirit had been diminished somehow; like my spiritual tank was running low on fuel. I had to reevaluate how I could bring the Spirit into my life in new ways. Obviously scripture study, prayer, sabbath day observance, obedience to the commandments, and other things set the foundation. But the turning point for me came when I realized that daily household tasks that were seemingly insignificant could become holy experiences for me. What a crazy thought! 

This change of attitude started after I read in Alma 37:6 that "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass". Those small and simple things for me were household chores and caring for my new baby. Then, I thought about a BYU devotional that was given back in 2011 when I was a sophomore at BYU. The address talks about what would happen if love were our only motive. Here are a few excerpts from that talk:

"I keep asking myself, “What if our only motive were love? What if everything we did, we did out of love?” 

"So is it possible to do everything we do out of love? Is it possible to study because we love the Lord and His children? Is it possible to be motivated by love when we take a test, read a chapter in a textbook, complete an assignment, or answer a question in class? Is it possible to love someone who has wronged us? Can love be our only motive?"

(Russell T. Osguthorpe, March 8, 2011)

Instead of having it apply to school, I thought about what would happen if I tried really hard to have love as my only motive throughout the day. How would that change the way I felt about doing laundry? About changing 20 dirty diapers? About cooking dinner? And so on. So, I tried it! I noticed such a difference. Suddenly, laundry became a way I could show love for my husband. Changing diapers became an act of service to my child who I loved so much. Instead of dwelling on the monotony or the repetition of the tasks I had to do each day, I thought about the Savior. I thought about my family. I thought about my priorities. 

I realized that each day could be filled with small holy experiences. 

I didn't have to wait until I was in the temple or at church to feel the Spirit.